Sanitary shaving-cup.



PATENTED SEPT. 26, 1905.

I. B. KLUNK. SANITARY SHAVING 0UP.

PATENT OF'FTQF.

JOHN B. KLUNK, OF TOLEDO, OHIO.

SANITARY SHAVlNG-CUP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 26, 1905 Application filed February 18, 1904. Serial No. 194,141.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN B. KLUNK, of Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sanitary Shaving-Cups; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form part of this specification. I

My invention has reference to a shavingcup; and it has for its object to provide a cup which shall contribute to the more perfect sanitary condition of public shaving places.

A further object is to provide a cup the use of which will effect a considerable saving of soap.

In the ordinary form of cup the bottom upon which the soap is placed provides the lowest level of the cup, and as a consequence all of the water adhering to the walls of the cup after the same has been washed out is deposited around the margin of the soap. The repeated accumulation of this water and its absorption by the soap results in softening the soap in immediate contact with bottom, the same in time becoming decomposed and providing an excellent medium for the propagation of bacteria and the germs of various skin and dangerous constitutional diseases. This condition is demonstrated by the frequent infection of a great number of individuals from the use of a single cup and is not due, as is popularlysupposed, to the employment of the same razor for shaving a number of people, owing to the fact that a razor is stropped at short intervals and is quite free from the danger of infection.

\Vhere the ordinary form of cup is employed, the cake of soap practically covers the entire bottom, and the action of the brush wears away the soap at the center much more rapidly than at the margins, the wearing being greatly assisted by the softening of the soap from the absorption of moisture, as has already been stated. As a consequence the soap will be completely worn away at the center, an annular margin remaining. This remaining portion readily cracks and breaks up, and thereby becomes useless, resulting in a loss of approximately twenty per cent. of the soap used.

In the employment of my improved cup the soap is worn away at the outer margin as well as at the top, and the unused port-ion is held in place until the entire cake is consumed.

\Vith the foregoing objects in view my invention is constructed, and the same comprises the novel combination and arrangement of the parts hereinafter shown, described, and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a cross-section of my improved shaving-cup, the section being on line 50, Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the cup.

In the accompanying drawings the numeral 1 designates my improved sanitary shaving-cup as a whole. This cup is in the shape of the mug usually employed for shaving purposes and is preferably cylindrical and of considerable depth. For sanitary purposes its upright side walls 2 and bottom 3 are integral. Arranged centrally. of the bottom is a raised portion or table 4, having a plane upper surface, adapted to support a cake of shaving-soap of the usual cylindrical form. The table has a diameter equal to that of the soap, and the walls of the cup are sufficiently remote from the outer margin of the table to provide an annular channel or pocket 5 for the reception of water when the cup is in use for the formation of lather and also for the deposit of the water adhering to the walls of the cup after the same has been washed. The walls of this channel are preferably vertical, the upright side wall 2 of the cup constituting one of them and the struck-up portion of the bottom of the cup constituting the other. 1 consider it of advantage to have these walls vertical because in the ordinary use of the shaving-mug it is held in one hand while the operator manipulates the brush with the other hand, and from the very fact that his chin is held high in the air it is inconvenient to look down into the mug. Therefore if the Walls of this channel diverged from each other upward the very common tipping of the mug out of an upright position would cause the water on the upper side of the channel to run in under the cake of soap, and it is objectionable that the soap shall be unnecessarily wet and worn away except as the operator desires .to make lather by manipulating the brush.

To insure against the displacement of the soap when in position upon the table, I provide the latter with a plurality of upwardly-extending engaging pins 6 remote from the edge of the table. These pins are preferably cylindrical in order that there shall be no corners to un- IIO necessarily cut and waste the soap or to injure a persons fingers when the cup is being washed. The pins preferably rise straight upward from the tableand are of rather small diameter, so that when the soap is inserted it can be pressed gently downward to cause the pins to embed themselves into it, by which means the soap will be attached to the pins without cracking it. hen it is desired to thoroughly clean the cup, the soap may be disengaged from the pins by lifting it vertically, thereby preserving the same holes for reattaching the cake to the pins when it is again inserted in the cup. The preferred arrangement of pins is that illustrated, the pins being provided at triangular points upon the table and the table having a plane top, since the formation of ridges on the table would also provide grooves or depressions having a tendency to retain water, and thereby defeat the principal object of my invention.

In the operation of my improved cup the cake of soap (shown in dotted outline a, Fig. 1) is placed in position upon the elevated table, being held against displacement by the pins 6. The water required for the formation of lather will be held by the pocket surrounding the table. In forming the lather the brush is moved in a circular path in contact with the top and the outer margin of the soap, taking up sui'ficient water from the pocket to form the lather. The cake of soap will therefore wear evenly, the top corners being slightly rounded by the operation, the tendency to wear away at the center, as is usual where the ordinary form of cup is employed, being entirely eliminated. The operation may be continued until only a thin disk of soap remains upon the table.

After the cup has been used the same is washed out, and the water adhering to the inner surface of the cup and the soap will be drained into the gutter surrounding the table, so that there will be no accumulation of Water around the soap to cause it to soften and to promotedecomposition. W'heretheordinary form of shaving-cup is employed, the soap being worn away mostly at the center forms a cup-shaped receptacle capable of holding a considerable quantity of water. This water dissolves the alkaline constituent of the soap, which upon the evaporation of the water, should the cup remain unused for some time, is deposited as a free granular alkali, which unincorporated with the necessary fats to form soap is very frequently the cause of acute irritation of the skin. It is apparent that this condition cannot be present where my improved cup is employed, since the cake of soap is worn off evenly, and the possibility of water gathering upon the soap itself is entirely eliminated.

The value of my invention to the public from a sanitary standpoint as a contributory means toward the prevention of infection from shaving is obvious.

Having described my invention, What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

1. The herein-described sanitary shavingcup of considerable depth, comprising upright side walls 2, a bottom 3 integral with said walls, a table 4 struck up from the bottom and having a plane upper surface merging into depending edges spaced from the side Walls to form a depressed annular channel 5, and means carried by said table for permitting the attachment and detachment of a cake of soap by moving the latter vertically.

2. The herein-described sanitary shavingcup of considerable depth, comprising upright side Walls 2, a bottom 3 integral with said walls, a table 4 struck up from the bottom and having a plane upper surface merging into depending edges spaced from the side walls to form a depressed annular channel 5, and cylindrical pins rising vertically from said table at points remote from its edge, for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I aflix my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

JOHN B. KLUNK. I/Vitnesses:

CARL H. KELLER, CHAS. G- DEFENBAUG'H. 

